The council had previously locked 10 of its 16 gates during the summer to “address persistent, alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour within the park”.
Glasgow City Council has announced that all gates at Kelvingrove Park have been reopened as of Friday 21 August.
The council made the announcement on their Facebook page where they claim that the gate closures played a big part in helping manage the park and reduce anti-social behaviour.
10 out of 16 gates at Kelvingrove Park were first locked back on 8 July after thousands had been flocking to the park in the summer weather, many bringing alcohol and not adhering to Covid-19 social distancing guidelines. The goal of the gate closures was what the council described in a press release on Tuesday 11 August to “address persistent, alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour within the park”.
However, Martha Wardrop, Scottish Green councillor for Hillhead believes the locking of the gates was “not an appropriate solution to addressing the problem of alcohol consumption in the park”, telling The Glasgow Guardian:
“I have called for additional council staff to be involved in management of the park, working alongside police officers, to patrol all of the gates on sunnier days. I have objected to the locking of the gates on the basis that it results in people climbing over railings to get into the park.
“Also, the closure of all gates from Kelvin Way, except Kelvin Way (south), did not support pedestrians and cyclists moving between Kelvin Way, which is closed to traffic, and the rest of the park. I have highlighted the importance of the gates being open to support children and young people being active outdoors, including walking or cycling through the park to attend their local school or nursery.”
On Friday 26 June, Kelvingrove Park made headlines as police evacuated and closed the park during the sunny day after large crowds gathered at the park and were not following social distancing.
On Friday 31 July, Kelvingrove Park had staff and police stationed at the opened gates of Kelvingrove to inspect bags and belongings to keep alcohol out of the park, with police also patrolling the park on a regular basis.
The council briefly reopened gates on Wednesday 12 August at Kelvin Way (north), Kelvin Way (bandstand), La Belle Place at the junction with Clifton Street and Park Drive for the reopening of schools in the area. This was in response to concerns of parents whose children use the park to travel to and from school, before locking them again on the following weekend to continue to “tackle anti-social behaviour”.
Closing the Kelvin Way to traffic is totally stupid as traffic is now being routed through already busy byres road and Gibson street